Artwork at Crossgates helps disabled adults soar

Wings in stained glass were created to offer inspiration

1of4Wildwood individuals and staff members, from left to right, Katie Garcia, Matt Whelan, manager of the Without Walls Program, Marie Hutchinson, Rebecca Burliuk, Tekeah Harris, direct support professional, and Karen Gillis, pose in front of the wings covered in stained glass inside Crossgates Mall on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Guilderland, N.Y. Artist Tamara DeMartino worked with 28 individuals and staff members of Wildwood to create the wings. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKI2of4A view of wings covered in stained glass inside Crossgates Mall on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Guilderland, N.Y. Artist Tamara DeMartino worked with 28 individuals and staff members of Wildwood to create the wings. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKI3of4A view of wings covered in stained glass inside Crossgates Mall on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Guilderland, N.Y. Artist Tamara DeMartino worked with 28 individuals and staff members of Wildwood to create the wings. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKI4of4A view of wings covered in stained glass inside Crossgates Mall on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Guilderland, N.Y. Artist Tamara DeMartino worked with 28 individuals and staff members of Wildwood to create the wings. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKI

Guilderland

The mosaic of wings now visible inside Crossgates Mall is meant to show that anyone, no matter their disabilities, can soar.

The artwork was created by artists Tamara DeMartino and adults in Wildwood Programs, which serves adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. The exhibit is composed of thousands of pieces of stained glass that people can pose in front of so as to appear to have sprouted wings.

In return, the program asks people to share their images on social media with the hashtag #wildwoodwings.

"This was an idea I'd had for about three years rolling around in my head," DeMartino said. "I wanted to make this into a mosaic."

"I showed her the concept I had, that I wanted to get a community arts grant," DeMartino said.

Rafferty-Weinisch had run the grant program for the arts center, so she knew exactly how to apply.

"She had a picture in her wallet of a woman standing in front of a pair of wings," Raffert-Weinisch said. "We are our abilities and not our disabilities. I thought the wings were such a great message."

A staffer at Wildwood cut the wooden base of the wings. DeMartino and adults from Wildwood's programs, as well as some staffers, painstakingly cut 12-inch tiles of stained glass into small pieces and attached them to the mosaic. She taught the participating adults how to safely cut the glass. Then the pieces were brought to the mall and the mosaic was assembled.

"It was really extraordinary. You could see the incredible pride of ownership," Rafferty-Weinisch said. "In the field, we are really fighting the tradition to keep people separated. Many of us, if we don't have a friend or family member with a disability, we don't have these people in our lives.

The project took about six weeks to complete with some 8,640 pieces of glass used to create the mosaic.

"The individuals who were in this project with me, first of all, were just a delight to work with," DeMartino said. "They kept saying stuff like 'Oh my gosh, I've never done anything like this before.' What a lot of this is about is just to bring art to all people."

Even while the work was not yet complete, people began to ask to take their photos with the wings as a backdrop.

"I'd love it when young girls would stop by and say 'This is so pretty. Can I take my picture with it?' " DeMartino said.

Rafferty-Weinisch hopes people will keep doing so and share the #wildwoodwings hashtag so that the participants who helped create it will see their work is appreciated.